Hearts on Fire
by R. M. Jackson
Summary: Set in season five during "Say Something." Rory feels she has a bone to pick with Luke, causing him to realize how much Lorelai really cares. JAVAJUNKIE ONESHOT.


I've gone oneshot crazy! Embrace it while you can. This piece was inspired by a prompt courtesy of Java. It takes place after Luke and Lorelai first break-up. There's some Luke and Rory fighting/bonding.

Disclaimer: Nope. Not mine.

* * *

"She's upstairs," Sookie told Rory as she flung the door open. Rory crept upstairs to look in on Lorelai. Sure enough, her mother was curled in the fetal position holding onto her pillow for dear life.

"Mom?" Rory put her hand on Lorelai's shoulder and shook it to see if she was awake.

In response, Lorelai sobbed. Rory curled up on the bed next to her mother and held her as she cried. Soon, her breathing became choppy and ragged.

"Mom. This isn't good. Come on, try to sit up."

"He said he needed time to think, but I pushed him," she sobbed.

"He's Luke. He'll come around," Rory tried to convince Lorelai.

"I pushed him and now he's gone."

Rory stroked her mother's shoulder again. "This isn't you…lying in bed like this. You should be up."

"God, I really screwed up this time." Lorelai grasped the pillow tighter and buried her face into it. "He could have been the one."

"Shhh. Try to sleep."

"I…I thought I loved him. Then he had to break my heart for me to know what true love really is," Lorelai whispered.

"I'll be right back," Rory said as she hopped off the bed.

Lorelai stared into the white pillow. Her misty eyes made it hard to see, but she tried to. A while later, her sobs faded and she drifted into a fitful sleep.

* * *

Rory wasn't sure what she was doing. Somehow, she felt she had to defend her mother. Lorelai had been kicked when she was down, and Rory was not going to have her like this. The sign on Luke's door had already been flipped to closed, but Rory found that the door was open. Silently, she let herself in to find Luke wiping down the countertop. 

"Rory," he acknowledged her. "Coffee?" he asked.

She nodded. "Luke?"

"Yes?" he asked as he poured her coffee.

"My mother is crying. Now, I'm sure you've seen her cry before. This time I'm not talking about the kind of crying you do at a mock wedding. We're talking the "world is out of coffee" type of crying. She can't stop. She's hauled up in that bed wearing yesterday's clothes. She's hugging a pillow! She's sobbing about love and how the town is wearing ribbons and it's gibberish! Lorelai Gilmore is a strong woman, but she's not even strong enough to sit right now. You did this to my mother! Luke, you were supposed to take care of her! I didn't expect this to be a permanent thing, considering her track record, but you are not supposed to break my mother! Lorelai Gilmore is broken! She is curled up in her bed and she is broken. Not even just broken! She's shattered like and old vase you would carelessly throw on the floor!" Rory's speech picked up momentum and kept rolling. "It was not supposed to happen at all! My father is the type of man to throw a wrench into these things and mess them up!" Rory paused to take a breath.

"Rory?" Luke asked as if he were waiting for permission to speak.

"You were supposed to be different!" Rory shouted.

"Well, how was I _supposed_ to act when her ex is crowding me and saying all this crap about how Emily knew it wasn't going to last! How is _anyone_ supposed to act when you're getting sand tossed in your face!" Luke screamed back.

Her eyes widened. Luke Danes, her surrogate father and mother's heartbreaker, had just yelled at her. "Like you care about my mom and trust her!" she yelled.

"I do!"

"Well, then why did you end it? You _knew_ she wasn't going to run of with Chris! That shipped has sailed!" Rory yelled back. She was actually surprised at herself for raising her voice, never mind getting into a screaming match with Luke. "You broke my mom! I get to hate you!" she screamed, remembering what Lorelai told her one time about Jess.

For a moment, Luke was silent. He couldn't work out much to say at all. Instead, he simply looked at Rory, then at the coffee, and then back at Rory. "Rory," he started gently.

"No! She's in bed _crying_ that she loves you and she thinks it's all her fault that you're not in this relationship. This is not her fault! You shouldn't take out the hatred for my father and my grandmother on her. This was _not_ something that was planned!" Immediately after Rory stopped speaking, she burst into tears.

Again, Luke was stunned. Rory was sitting here, experiencing a myriad of emotions and all he could do was stare at her like she was growing a fruit basket out of her hair. "She loves me?" he asked.

"Yes! She loves you more than anything! This was not her fault. She's been toying with the prospect of dating you for years!" Rory hopped off the stool she had been sitting on. "She's needs to know you're in. You _have _to be in. Otherwise, you'll regret it for the rest of your life." Rory stood by the door for a second before letting herself out and allowing the door to slam after her.

"She loves me," Luke said softly to the diner walls. Without Lorelai, he was all alone. He sighed. There was something else he had to do tonight besides change the ketchup bottles. As he grabbed his jacket, Luke thought of all the appropriate ways to apologize.

He tried to hasten his pace as he walked to the Gilmore house. When he finally reached the front door, he held back for a second before walking away. Quickly, he turned back around and faced the door once again. Before he could ring the bell, Lorelai whipped the door open.

"Lu-uke…"

"Lorelai," he said.

"You should go."

"No," Luke said persistently.

"Why not?" Lorelai asked.

"Because I'm in. I am all in. I love you! And I'm stupid. How could I not have known that Emily Gilmore was just in it to do exactly this? She tried to ruin us and I let her!" Luke kissed Lorelai passionately and she kissed him back until air became an issue.

"Luke…"

"What?"

"You love me?" Lorelai asked breathlessly.

"Since the day you wouldn't stop yapping until I gave you coffee," he smiled. She kissed him lightly.

"I'll see you in the morning," she said.

"For coffee?"

"And maybe something else on the side." Lorelai wiggled her eyebrow suggestively.

Luke turned a few different shades of red and shut the door, leaving Lorelai to ponder the last few minutes. Before he could completely leave the property, he spotted Rory.

"It's nice to know you reconsidered," she said.

"What can I say? Sometimes I'm an ass; sometimes I need a little push." Luke said as he walked away.

Rory shrugged as Luke shrunk into the distance. Sometimes it was worth putting everything on the line, especially if that everything had taught you how to love.


End file.
